In
rural areas all across America, county fair week is a busy time for
4-H youth as they exhibit their livestock in intense competition.
Each participant wants his/her animal to get the coveted first place
ribbon and trophy.

Tanned
and rosy cheeked, some of these boys and girls look very small next
to the big heifers, steers and bulls they show. Tomorrow’s leaders
are fearless and don’t seem to mind getting kicked on occasion, and
with fierce determination these youngsters prove their ability to
handle their animal.

4-H
and FFA kids love their chickens, geese, goats, rabbits, sheep, cattle,
horses or whatever they are raising as a project. Endless hours are
spent feeding, grooming and taming their stock to “show” their best
at the fair in hopes of impressing the judge.

This
is a family event as the kids could not do it without mom and dad
being with them. Farm kids are usually the best kids around because
they don’t have time to get into trouble and they spend a lot of time
together as a family. Starting at a young age, these kids learn responsibility,
a good work ethic and they build character.

Will
this great tradition of 4-H and FFA draw to an end when the National
Animal Identification System (NAIS) is mandated and every animal is
tagged and tracked? Many say “yes.”

There
is a strong feeling among small producers and hobby farmers that if
the National Animal ID is forced upon them, George Orwells’ quote
will become reality when he said, “If you want a picture of the future,
imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever."

The
small producer will be getting kicked hard and will be forced to abandon
the livestock he loves to raise. This will leave food production in
the hands of the big producers or third world countries whose care
and quality will not match that of the small producer.

There
will be no hands on training for those who planned a career in raising
the food for your table if the intrusive reporting is mandated. They
will be out of business.

Texas
attorney, Judith McGeary says the owner will be required to report:

The birth date of an animal

The application of every animal’s ID tag every time the animal
leaves or enters the property.

Every time an animal loses a tag

Every time a tag is replaced

The slaughter or death of an animal

If any animal is missing

Every time an animal goes onto or off of another person’s premises
a report would be required, showing that the tagged animal had
been on each of these other premises and must be reported within
24 hours. (Standards, pp. 12-13, 17-21)

Horse
riders who trail ride will have to report to the government each time
they leave their premises. Livestock exhibited at multiple fairs during
the season will have to be reported each time the animal leaves the
registered premise. If livestock is slaughtered for personal use,
the government wants to know.

A
premise registration number is “required for every person who owns
even one horse, cow, pig, chicken, sheep, goat, deer, elk, bison,
or virtually any livestock animal, will be forced to register their
home, including owner’s name, address and telephone number and keyed
to Global Positioning System coordinates in a government database
under a 7 digit “premises ID number,” according to Texas attorney,
Judith McGeary.

Doesn’t
it seem strange that a “horse” would be listed if they are concerned
about disease since we don’t eat horsemeat in the United States? Beef
is our main export so why are they targeting goat, deer, elk and other
animals? A few chickens and ducks running around the farmstead is
not exactly a world threat and the whole concept of NAIS is invasive
to private property rights.

NAIS
is being sold as a way to control disease and to get a better market
price from countries such as Japan. For mega producers this would
not be a major problem as they have office staffs who track the production
record of each head of livestock and the information is readily available.
However, the producer has no control over the packer and how he handles
the animal once it leaves it’s premise.

But
for the small producer and ordinary 4-H family, where both parents
work and try to farm a little on the side, there are not enough hours
in the day as it is -- much less the time for all the detail of record
keeping and the expense NAIS nonsense would entail. It is then this
wonderful way of life will be abandoned and young people will be deprived
of the very fundamental tradition of raising their own animals and
the lessons they learn.

The
paperwork alone will make it impossible to be the good neighbor and
give away a bucket calf or pig to the kids next door to raise as a
4-H project.

We
certainly don’t need these 4-H kids becoming more like city dwellers
with the mindset of becoming the next “great environmentalists” when
they have no concept of the real environment. What we need are more
rugged kids who have not been raised in front of a TV or computer
who truly understand the real meaning of taking care of the earth
and God’s critters.

McGeary,
who will be speaking at the upcoming Freedom
21 conference, said this “feel good” program will do virtually
nothing to safeguard animal health, its alleged purpose. But it will:

Drive small producers and their supporting suppliers (feed stores,
auction barns, etc.) out of business.

Make people abandon raising animals for their own food and as
pets

Invade Americans’ personal privacy to a degree never before tolerated

Deprive Americans of their property rights

Violate the religious freedom of Americans whose beliefs make
it impossible for them to comply

Cost the American economy far more than it will deliver

Supposedly
the program is voluntary now but will be mandated by 2009. Most believe
by then it will be an RFID chip instead of a tag placed in each animal
to be tracked by Global Positioning System. That means there will
be surveillance of your home as that is your premise location and
where most animals reside. Will a chip be required of the people who
live there next?

Joyce Morrison
attempts to educate the public regarding the dangers coming to their local
communities through Sustainable Development and Agenda 21 programs which
are designed to gradually take control of all private property through
undue regulations.

Morrison writes
for Eco-logic Powerhouse, NewsWithViews.com,
Range Magazine, SOWER magazine as well as numerous other publications.
She is a weekly participant on the teleconference of the Illinois Policy
Institute, a conservative think tank and is a pro-life, pro-family activist.

She is a chapter
leader for Concerned Women for America as well as Secretary to the Board
of Directors of Rural Restoration/ADOPT Mission, a national farm ministry
located in Sikeston, MO. FarmersRuralRestoration.com. Her most enjoyable
time is spent teaching a senior adult Sunday School class which is a focus
on hope and encouragement.

There
is a strong feeling among small producers and hobby farmers that if the
National Animal ID is forced upon them, George Orwells’ quote will become
reality when he said, “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a
boot stamping on a human face, forever."...